The Critics' Choice Movie Awards have made the smart move holding their annual ceremony the same day as the Academy Awards nominations. It keeps any intriguing narrative, snub or surprise at the top of everyone's minds during the show and, potentially, should increase viewership.

Over the years, the show has at times served, at worst, as a place where expected SAG, BAFTA or Oscar winners could essentially practice their acceptance speeches before a crowd. Learn what works and doesn't. Or maybe even generate some buzz for their candidacy. The 2015 Critics' Choice Movie Awards show had too many inherent problems to be that memorable (surprise: host Michael Strahan wasn't really one of them), but there were some gems for this year's Oscar nominees and even competing awards show producers scouting for talent.

Check out our top 10 takeaways from the 2015 Critics' Choice Movie Awards in the embedded gallery below.

Agree? Disagree? What were your takes after watching the show? Share your thoughts in the embedded gallery below.

Hey everyone! We've been up working almost non-stop since 5:30 AM for the Academy Award nominations and haven't napped yet.  That means it's time to live-blog the 2015 Critics' Choice Awards right?  Who's excited?  Anyone got an over/under for a “LEGO Movie” or “Dick Poop” call out? 

In case you forgot who was nominated, check out this year's honorees here.

6:00 PM – The show has started and host Michael Strahan is doing some 'Magic Mike XXL' themed intro number.  Whoever thought this was a good idea should probably not come back to the show next year.  Strahan explains who the BFCA (the Broadcast Film Critics Association) is without saying those words.  Strahan tries to joke with some of the nominees in the audience.  We're not sure this is working.  Strahan wants a “Birdman-Strahan” sequel.  Whew, we're cutting to a 2014 in review montage.

6:05 PM – Strahan goes back to his original 'Magic Mike XXL'  bit and pulls off his pants to reveal some pretty damn cut legs.  But whew, now here comes Chris Evans and Rosario Dawson here to give away the Best Ensemble honor…and the winner?

Best Ensemble: “Birdman”

Michael Keaton and Andrea Riseborough go up on stage. Keaton throws it to Riseborough “I feel almost unworthy being up here.” She thanks Alejandro, Fox  and “Cheers!”

6:08 PM – Strahan goes into the audience to talk to Reese Witherspoon.  He shows an iPad on each table and wants all the celebrities to take a selfie with the iPad and post it online.  Yawn. This could have just been done more quickly and less awkwardly.

6:09 PM – Vera Farminga and Freddie Highmore of A&E's “Bates Motel” come out to hand out the Best Young Actor/Actress honor. Oh, and Highmore won twice! 

Best Young Actor/Actress: Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”

“A year ago I didn't think anyone was going to care about this movie. It's been an adjustment to learn to accept all the really lovely things people say.I want to say thank you and everyone who watched the movie…”  Nice quick speech from Coltrane who is alluding to the fact he may be really over promoting this movie, but it worked!

6:15 PM – Wouldn't it be hilarious if “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the sneak movie at Sundance this year?  Ponder.

6:18 PM – Leslie Mann and Josh Gad come out.  Mann just keeps calling him Olaf from “Frozen.” Gad drops he's an actor and “The Wedding Ringer” is coming out tomorrow.  Mann wants him to say “Some people are worth melting for.”  Mann was really disappointed in how he did it. Brings out twig stick arms and has him doing it again.  She keeps directing him. “I did it like I did it in my movie!”  “Here are the nominees for Best Actor in an Action movie!“

Best Actor in an Action Movie: Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”

“Bradley couldn't be here tonight as he is starring in Broadway in “The Elephant Man.” We accept this on his behalf!”  Obviously, Cooper missed out on his chance to accept an honor

Best Actress in an Action Movie:  Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”

Obviously, this makes up for her loss in the Best Actress – Comedy or Musical category at the Globes.  Her husband, John Krasinski, comes up and kisses her as she's coming out on stage.

Tom Cruise, “He let me kick his ass every day. Doug Liman is extraordinary.” “Finally, thanks to my husband John Krasinski for coming up with my favorite line ever, 'I'm afraid I'm going to wake up to you benching me.' ” “I will be forever grateful for the title of 'Full Metal Bitch.'”

6:24 PM – Jason Strahan comes out in a very bad Gandolf costume –  “against type” mind you – to introduce Adam Scott.  The “Parks and Rec” star is on hand to announce the nominees for Best Action movie which turns out to be a very competitive category.

Best Action Movie: “Guardians of the Galaxy”

James Gunn and Chris Pratt are on hand to accept!  “This tells you how much Marvel to accept these awards. I found out about this half an hour ago.”  Gunn tries to make a joke about making Pratt's career. They don't have any bit really planned so I actually believe Gunn had no idea he was going to be doing this tonight.

6:33 PM – Strahan is back and we find out that Antonio Sanchez won the Best Original Score for “Birdman” earlier that night. But now…

John Krasinski is out to present the award for Best Animated Feature.  Will “LEGO” win????

Best Animated Feature: “The LEGO Movie”

Yay they won!

“What a roller coaster of emotions today!” “This award is extra special. This ward is just gravy.” Phil – “We want to thank the Critics Choosers for having the courage to give something to a movie named 'The LEGO Movie!'” Aww, that was too quick. This was the Critics' chance to make a statement after the biggest snub in recent history this morning. Sigh.

6:38 PM – Chris Pratt comes out to present a new award, the Most Valuable Player or MVP.  The first ever honoree turns out to be Jessica Chastain (guess it's non-competitive).  Pratt reads a quote from Oscar Isaac “I've never met anyone as ferociously committed to her work.” We get a look at four of Jessica's performances this year. “Interstellar,” “Miss Julie,” “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” and “A Most Violent Year.”  Love that Chastain is being recognized, but this is sort of silly. Like an MTV Movie Awards trophy…

Chastain says she googled the definition of “MVP” and loved the idea of being a “player that's part of a team.”  “I was able to prep shoot and promote all four films because of the brilliant team I work with.” She thanks all her directors and says she's so thankful to be working in an industry with them.  “Today is Martin Luther King's birthday and it got me thinking about the need to build diversity in our industry and to stand together against homophobic, misogynist and racist agendas. I am an optimistic and I cannot help to feel optimistic about the future of film.” “I would like to encourage everyone in this room to please speak up.”

Great sentiment from Chastain who clearly is as disturbed by today's Oscar nods as others were (well, guessing at least, it was timely).

6:48 PM – Diane Kruger comes out to give the Best Supporting Actor honor…

Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

J.K. could not be here tonight. He's filming in Atlanta! 

6:50 PM – Strahan comes out in a Lobby Boy outfit from “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Tony Revolori gets a shout out! (Tony's a great guy by the way – with two movies at Sundance!)

Jared Leto comes out and admits he knows who won Best Supporting Actress since the envelope opened.  Will he hint who might win before he's supposed to?

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”

Another win for “Boyhood” tonight!  Nice P.R. wins on the Oscar trail.  “My god, those performances I'm so honored and grateful to be in this company.” She tries to give some credit to all the “bloggers” and writers and, um, “people who created their own careers” (Ha!).  She makes a great point about audiences may want movies financiers don't think they want. Some nice love to Ethan and Ellar. Then she gets played off. A common theme for the night.

7:00 PM – Michelle Monaghan and Garrett Hedlund come out to present Best Song.  Can “LEGO movie” go two for two? Or will “Glory” from “Selma” win?

Best Song: “Glory” from “Selma”

Another nice win for “Glory” which is probably the frontrunner for Oscar right now. Unless the voters want to Common is there and says, since its Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday “I want to receive this in his honor and thank you for Ava DuVernay for making the first feature film about Dr. King so beautifully.” He says when she first heard “Glory” she wanted something bigger like “We Are the World.”  Gives big thanks to her again, David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Plan B and his own peeps. “I want to dedicate this to my father.”  Um, he didn't thank his co-writer John Legend.

And, um, Common forgot to thank John Legend. The guy who co-wrote the song with him.  Yikes.

7:04 PM – Chris Hemsworth is here to present a Lifetime Achievement honor, er, sorry Louis XII Genius Award to Ron Howard.  We watch a montage of all the different films Howard has made over his impressive career. And, of course, “Heart of the Sea” is included even the montage even though its been pushed to December for Oscar consideration next year…

Howard gets a standing ovation. “I am truly grateful. I love all kinds of movies and I always have. You know what he enduring gift has been? The people. Every different type of individual and personality. Yes, you've worked to try and support my vision, but you've inspired the work and that's, frankly, the thing that I'm most proud of.” Gives a special shout out to his longtime producing partner Brian Grazer. Then it goes a bit too long…

…and before the commercial we find out the winners of some of the more important awards!

Best Cinematography – “Birdman”

Best Visual Effects – “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”

Best Editing – “Birdman”*

*wasn't nominated for Oscar

Best Art Direction – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Costume Design – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Hair and Makeup – “Guardians of the Galaxy”

…and now those commercials!

7:15 PM – Strahan, in “Maleficent” guard, “I put the male in 'Maleficent'!” Gets Jolie to say he can be in the sequel (which may not be happening).  He then introduces Tyler Perry who says, “Critics, kind of like being in a band where J.K. Simmons is there, “they beat your ass, but in the end they make you better.”  He's here to give the Best Actor in a Comedy Award…

Best Actor in a Comedy: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Unfortunately, I was unable to be here tonight. I'm in a room full of critics and I'm making the assumptions most of the people in this film ahve seen 'Birdman' and there is a scene where I lambast a critic mercilessly. I hope I don't come off as cowardly when I say this, I swear to god I had nothing to do with that scene.” “Honestly, I'll take anything.” “Everyone keeps saying what a grind this is. This is fun. I'm digging this.”

Now, Perry back to give out…

Best Actress in a Comedy: Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”

Nice and well deserved win for Slate! Nice indie love from BFCA. “Hi, interesting. Scary. Heavy. I wrote something down because I didn't want to be unprepared and my Dad told me to.” Thanks the critics for shining a light on her film.  “Activisim and creativity can work together.”  Sure can!

7:21 PM – Arquette and Ethan Hawke come out to give the Best Comedy Film Award…(seems rushed, the show might be behind…)

Best Comedy: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

And it looks like only producer Jeremy Lawson and Tony are here!  Wes Anderson couldn't be there…Funny moment when Tony holds the award…like his character would have.

7:26 PM – Hey Guys! This show is over in 24 minutes! Which is a good thing cause I'm hungry and there is no food in my apartment.  (TMI?)

7:28 PM – Rene Russo (“Nightcrawler” snub!) comes out to give the real Lifetime Achievement Award to Kevin Costner.  With laryngitis! So they have a speed auctioneer to read all his movies very quick. Russo interrupts him to note what great, great kisser he was in “Tin Cup.” This has gotten slightly weird.  They smartly go to the clip reel.

[Couldn't they announce more real awards without the MVP and basically two Lifetime Achievement Awards?]

Costner, “1:56, that's what life in a movie feels like. It feels that fast.” Talks about how he misses Sean Connery and Gene Hackman.  Jokes about how he's there cause he is of a certain age and in town.  Talks about how he's not sure how this dream all happened. Thanks all the writers who contributed to his career. “As hard as it is to write in this climate of committee I hope you keep going because this business has so little a chance of progressing without you.”  Thanks all the directors, “you handed me my career.” Thanks the drivers, the stuntmen and to the people who prepared the food (he's thanking the caterers! The caterers!) He's thanking the assistants! The crews! (Does that include the office P.A.'s?). “Nobody has it better than us. Traveling the world first class.” “Try to act grateful.” “How do I give my gratitude in 2 min? I can barely make a 2 hour movie.”  Longer than 2 minutes, but nice speech.

7:39 PM – Judd Apatow on hand to step in for someone else to hand out an award, “Somebody knew I'd be home tweeting about Cosby and be available.” Judd is taking this show over and is being totally bleeped out. Hope it's funny in the theater! Jealous!  Apatow is giving out best director award…”I don't move the camera once in two hours. What I call a reverse Iñárritu.” And the winner…

Best Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Another win for “Boyhood.” The junket press love it! They really love it!  Linklater, “I think a director is a conductor is a hustler is a conjurer, but I think the main job of a director is to see the greatness in others and bring that out.” “Experience of a lifetime.” “People talk about 'Boyhood' as an experiment. It didn't feel like that to us. We were trying to tell a story and it was the only way we could do it. It was a leap of faith, but we believed in each other.”

7:49 PM – Strahan comes out and tries to come up with some names from the internet for Emily Blunt's table. Yeah, this wasn't necessary.

Patrick Stewart out to announce Best Actress…

Best Actress: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”

Another win for Julianne!  “Thank you or noticing a little movie. I am a girl's girl. I love acting with women. You never get to act with other women. That does not mean I am not watching and inspired by everything they do.” Gives a wonderful call out to all her fellow nominees.  Might be the best quick speech of the night and she doesn't even need it.  Lock people, lock.

7:56 PM – Amy Adams out to quickly announce Best Actor…

Best Actor: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Nice P.R. Win for Keaton.  “Thank you very much, look everyone in this room to get to where you want to get to is hard work. It's not like going into a village and fighting Ebola hard work. It's not hard work like my employment is determined by my economic status and the color of my skin hard work.” “I just want to thank anyone who has ever thrown me a solid. Really, honest to God. Inside or outside the business.” “The idea that someone is better than the other person isn't true, look, I'm gonna take it, but look no further than Ethan Hawke. This kid is good in everything he does.” They really play him off as time is running out.  In fact, aren't they already over?

8:03 PM – We're over and here's Ben Kingsley to name the Best Movie of 2015…10 nominees!

Best Picture: “Boyhood”

Linklater introduces his editor of 22 years, seems slightly overwhelmed. Has a story about growing up and how his family's own divorce inspired “Boyhood.” “Life doesn't give you perfect, but it does give you an opportunity to care about each other.”

Big P.R. win for “Boyhood”!  And yet another show where “The Imitation Game” goes home with nada. Can it really go all the way with Oscar?  PGA, SAG and BAFTA will tell the tale.

Thanks for reading along everyone.  Kris will “probably” be live blogging the SAG Awards in two weeks so come back for that! (Wait, did I just commit him to that without asking?)

What did you think of tonight's show? Share your thoughts below.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Best Picture: “Boyhood”
Best Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Gone Girl”
Best Original Screenplay: “Birdman”
Best Art Direction: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Cinematography: “Birdman”
Best Costume Design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Editing: “Birdman”
Best Hair and Makeup: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Score: “Birdman”
Best Song: “Glory” from “Selma”
Best Visual Effects: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Best Animated Feature: “The LEGO Movie”
Best Documentary Feature: “Life Itself”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Force Majeure”
Best Comedy: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Actor in a Comedy: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Best Actress in a Comedy: Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”
Best Action Movie: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Actor in an Action Movie: Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Best Actress in an Action Movie: Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Film: “Interstellar”
Best Ensemble: “Birdman”
Best Young Actor or Actress: Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910595668001

LOS ANGELES – Rosamund Pike has had other things on her mind lately than the Oscar nominations. She's been on the circuit attending the Palm Springs Film Festival Awards Gala and the Golden Globes, but there's been this new addition who has sort of preoccupied her free time.  The “Gone Girl” star says she was “stunned” and that her lead actress Oscar nomination is “amazing,” but that she was also completely unprepared for it all.

“I know it sounds like I should have been but I'm so just living in the day,” Pike says. “I was asleep and my manager woke me up and then my agent in the UK called. You know, we've all been on quite a big journey and it's totally stunning. I'm stunned. And obviously, I have a six-week baby so it was the first time someone was waking me up not wanting food.”

While many of her fellow nominees have spent the last few months attending screenings and events on the circuit, Pike delivered a baby and was away from most of the fun. Being in the states for the past few weeks has given her new insight into how much David Fincher's thriller has resonated with people and “gotten inside” their heads.

“I think the nomination is a testament to what David and Gillian [Flynn] created,” Pike says, “because I've been away in England doing no press, basically having my baby, and I think the fact I received this nomination today just shows that somehow that film and that character got inside people's heads in quite an indelible way. It's very exciting. So, now I've been in LA and I've been out and about and you're not the first person who has come up to me and said, 'I've seen this film five times' or two times or three times. That is the best reward I can tell you.”

Pike's performance as “Amazing” Amy Dunne has earned raves since the film debuted at the New York Film Festival and the 35-year-old Brit recognized immediately that the character provided her a rare opportunity.

“I knew that this was a character that I kind of had in me somewhere deep, somewhere that would be scary to explore, but somewhere I would feel that I would never look back if you got the chance to explore it,” she says. “You have to be quite fearless.

“Someone was asking me what I felt after the experience in going forward. Obviously, I haven't done a film since then, but I feel when I do my next film I'm going to be much more, I don't know, fearless and sort of up for anything. I think that's what this whole experience gave me as a life lesson. And David Fincher demands that. You've got to be someone who is up for it, because there was the insanity of this part – I mean, she was absolutely grounded in reality – but there were moments of sheer insanity that border on theatrical. There is an actress in that woman. The sociopath has an actor in them, an actor who can kind of see emotion and play.”

There are many questions as to why 20th Century Fox didn't mount a bigger awards campaign for “Gone Girl” (although word has it Fincher is the main reason why there wasn't one), but Pike is happy to carry the torch for the $365 million global blockbuster to the Dolby Theater. She admits, however, that she wishes she weren't the only member of the “Gone Girl” family being recognized.

“I would have loved to see Carrie Coon or Kim Dickens nominated for supporting actress,” she says. “I really would. They are two very impressive ladies and these days when I watch the film I watch it for one or the other of their performances.”

The 87th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on Feb. 22 on ABC.

Well, there we went. The Oscar nominations are in and, in a nice change of pace, the crafts categories were revealed on the air. Let's see what the last several months of build-up has left for us. A few trends come to mind…

The (Near) Shut-Outs
Oh how the mighty have fallen. A measly sound editing nomination for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” shows that the novelty eventually does wear off. Goose eggs for “Noah” (despite a strong push), “Nightcrawler” (given its precursor run), “Gone Girl” (you would have thought it had great chances in film editing and original score), “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (given the sound branch's love of this series) and “Big Eyes” (given the pedigree) have also got to be considered disappointing. And even though it garnered two nominations, I can't imagine that there aren't some long faces regarding “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with no design or sound nominations to show for itself. Similarly, earning only a nomination for original score cannot be all that “The Theory of Everything” was gunning for. Ditto “Selma” in original song.

(Near-)Sweepers
Though many may not have noticed it, “Mr. Turner” got a nomination in every conceivable crafts category. It should be proud. Ditto “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (unless you bought the notion that it had a shot at sound mixing). Once again, however, the branches spread the wealth this year, and virtually all other contenders missed a spot or two where they might have scored as a true “sweeper.”

The In-Betweens
So clearly “The Imitation Game” did well. But where are its sound mixing and costume design nods? And surely “Birdman” cannot complain, unless you're its production designer or film editor, that is. And “Unbroken” did respectably given its overall reception, but it's not exactly earth-shattering with only three nominations (random: the same three “Batman Forever” earned). “Interstellar” also did well, with five nods, but a few months ago, everyone thought cinematography and film editing were sure things.

Turning to the particular categories…

Best Cinematography

I managed to pin this category down exactly, with Emmanuel Lubezki (“Birdman”), Robert Yeoman (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”), Dick Pope (“Mr. Turner”) and Roger Deakins (“Unbroken”) getting their very predictable nominations and Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski (“Ida”) scoring with this branch's affinity for black-and-white films and foreign films. Óscar Faura (“The Imitation Game”) and Hoyte Van Hoytema (“Interstellar”) were likely very close to nominations given how well their films did overall. They will have to wait for their first nods, alas.

Lubezki looks to be in great shape to win this category for the second year in a row, with his fellow nominees either too small (“Ida,” “Mr. Turner”), not loved enough (“Unbroken”) or likelier to find favor in other categories (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”).

Best Costume Design

The nominations for Milena Canonero (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”), Colleen Atwood (“Into the Woods”) and Jacqueline Durran (“Mr. Turner”) should have surprised no one. We also accurately predicted that “Maleficent” would earn Anna B. Sheppard her third nomination and Jane Clive her first. I thought Mark Bridges' work for “Inherent Vice” would prove too stylized to earn him his second nomination. I'm glad I was wrong. The result is that titles such as “The Theory of Everything,” “Selma” and “The Imitation Game” were left out as the branch sought to really “go back in time” from a historical perspective.

I suspect Canonero will be tough to beat but let's not rule out Atwood and Durran just yet.

Best Film Editing

Billy Goldenberg (“The Imitation Game”) and Sandra Adair (“Boyhood”) predictably ran with Best Picture nominations to the final five. Barney Pilling's nomination for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” shows just how much AMPAS loved this movie. With “American Sniper,” Joel Cox and Gary Roach finally return to the fold for a Clint Eastwood film, 10 years after “Million Dollar Baby.” And as for Tom Cross and “Whiplash?” I'm glad the Editors Branch avoided the riots that would have accompanied his omission. John Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”), meanwhile, suffered the fate of his film while Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione coming up short was one of few instances where “Birdman” missed a plausible nomination.

This is actually quite an interesting race for the win as cases can be made for any contender.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

This is the most original and creative of Academy branches so color me slightly surprised that they went predictable with “Foxcatcher,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” This is an instance where all three films could make a run for the win. Had “The Theory of Everything” made the nomination stage, it likely would have been leading the charge now.

Best Music (Original Score)

Alexandre Desplat has finally earned two nominations in a year, predictably scoring for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Imitation Game.” I suspect Jóhann Jóhannsson might ultimately prove an obstacle to the win, however, with his lovely “Theory of Everything” score. Hans Zimmer is also back in the game for “Interstellar,” a year after a surprising snub for “12 Years a Slave.” I figured the music branch was going to go somewhere creative in the final spot, I just didn't guess where, as Gary Yershon earned an inspired nomination for “Mr. Turner,” leaving the likes of Thomas Newman (“The Judge”) and Marco Beltrami (“The Homesman”) on the outside looking in. Trent Renzor and Atticus Ross seem like the sort of duo unlikely to garner regular nominations, as they came up short for “Gone Girl.”

As mentioned above, I think Jóhannsson has the edge over Desplat, an edge which is not going to be lessened with Desplat's multiple nominations.

Best Music (Original Song)

From 1996-2001, it appeared as though Dianne Warren could do no wrong in this category. Now she's finally back, with “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights.” The nomination for “I'm Not Going to Miss You” from “Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me” was also appropriately touching. The other nominees were totally predictable: “Everything is Awesome” from “The LEGO Movie,” “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” and “Glory” from “Selma.” The more famous Golden Globe nominees were shut out, as is becoming an annual tradition.

As the only nominee from a film with another nomination (Best Picture!), “Glory” will be tough to beat.

Best Production Design

As in Best Cinematography and Best Makeup & Hairstyling, I batted 1.000 here, with “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game” and “Into the Woods” being utterly predictable, “Interstellar” having a BAFTA nod in addition to ADG support to make its cause and the art-infused sets of “Mr. Turner” being an irresistible completion of the category over about 10 films that were making a claim for the final spot.

One would hope/expect “The Grand Budapest Hotel” will win this walking away. It's rare that a set becomes a character like we saw in this film.

Best Sound Editing

The two sound categories were tremendously hard to predict this year beyond “American Sniper,” though I correctly surmised “Unbroken” and “Interstellar” would find a home here. “Birdman's” sound clearly struck a chord as it earned a nod here as well as in Best Sound Mixing. That the “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” managed to earn its film's only nomination here shows that the branch really respected the undeniably impressive sound work on the feature. My “Noah” prediction was always a shot in the dark but I did really expected “Guardians of the Galaxy” to score. Oh well…

“American Sniper” will be tough to beat.

Best Sound Mixing

Again, “American Sniper” was an easy get. As predicted, the branch also recognized the genius of “Whiplash” and the subtle strengths of “Birdman.” I thought the branch would go for “Unbroken” and “Interstellar” in the sound editing category, and the fact that they saw fit to nominate them here too is quite something, particularly in the case of the latter, what with all the complaints leveled towards it.
Again, I was surprised that “Guardians of the Galaxy” failed to make the cut. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” ends its franchise's golden run in this category.

As in Best Sound Editing, “American Sniper” has a real leg up.

Best Visual Effects

I always wondered if the Middle Earth saga would follow the “Star Wars” saga and fail to go 6/6 in Best Visual Effects. Lo and behold, it happened, as “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” is the major snub here. “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” on the other hand, finally earns its franchise a first nomination in the category. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” meanwhile, also capitalized on its great reception for a deserved, albeit also somewhat surprising, nod.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Interstellar” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” will now battle it out for the win. In the absence of a Best Picture nominee among the final five in this category, any of the three could take it.

So that's that. Tune in over the next few weeks as we speak to more nominees and continue to analyze the races!

Every Oscar nominations announcement comes with it's share of snubs and surprises. For those who watch the announcement live, you can spot them by uneasy grumbles at the end of a category announcement (someone got passed over) or, of course, shouts of joy from publicists whose nails have been chewed to the bed (surprise!).

This year was no different on that score and of course we've outlined a number of them here. And we could probably fill even more column inches with the deserving works that never had a shot for this reason or that which find themselves observers today.

(Oh, and a note on semantics: Can we just assume going forward that “snub” is a perfectly acceptable colloquialism for “expected nominee who didn't get nominated?” Lots of quibbling over that lately, though maybe it's Twitter-contained. I'd say “begs the question” is a much bigger issue, no?)

Check out our survey of this year's Oscar snubs and surprises in the gallery story below. Which one caught you off guard the most?

LOS ANGELES – As always, there were a number of surprises Thursday morning with the announcement of the 87th Academy Awards nominations, but one of the biggest ones was Marion Cotillard's nod in the lead actress category for “Two Days, One Night.”  

Cotillard, who won in the same category in 2008 for “La Vie en Rose,” has earned a number of critical kudos this awards season for “Two Days,” such as the Best European Actress award at the European Film Awards and critics' groups honors from the New York Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics. That doesn't even include the recognition she received for her performance in “The Immigrant,” which was also (finally) released last year. And yet, because she was looked over by SAG, “Two Days” didn't make the Best Foreign Language Film shortlist (a false indicator in any case) and the film was only playing in New York by the end of the year, many assumed she was too much of a longshot to make the cut.

How wrong we were. Instead, Cotillard – who is in Los Angeles for the Critics' Choice Awards tonight – told HitFix she found herself besieged by phone calls this morning when the nominations were announced.

“My phone started to ring like constantly and the phone of the hotel where I'm staying started to ring, too,” she says. “I got a little worried that something had happened and, actually, something happened, but that was a good thing! So, my wonderful publicist called me this morning at five something and that's how I found out.”

Trust us, from her reaction on the phone, she isn't exaggerating when she says, “I was totally in shock.”

She adds, “These past few days, every time someone would talk to me about a nomination I would make fun of them because I didn't think it was possible. I didn't even think it was impossible. I didn't think about it at all.”

The Dardennes film had been selected as Belgium's foreign language submission and Cotillard had been hoping she would be able to take the legendary filmmakers to their first Academy Awards.

“When we didn't make the shortlist, I have to say I was a little sad because I had this dream to take them to the Oscars,” she says. “And today it's changed everything because I can take this movie to the Oscars and it makes me so happy.”

It's been a long road for “Two Days” since it premiered to strong reviews at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in May. I asked Cotillard when she knew her collaboration with the Dardennes had led to something so special.

“You know, I don't think they can create something that is not special,” she says with a laugh. “Honestly, I have seen all their movies. I've love them all. They are impossible to put in only one genre. When they asked me to work with them I knew it would be special. I knew that it would be an amazing experience, and that was one of my greatest experiences. They gave me everything I had ever dreamt about in terms of a relationship between an actor and a director. But then you never know that it's going to meet another audience like in the U.S. This is something you cannot predict. This is something you cannot expect when you do a Belgian or French movie and this makes me so, so freaking happy.”

That also means this Belgian movie, which will expand across the country over the next few weeks, will get an even larger audience in the U.S. because of her nomination. How big remains to be seen, but even a conservative box office analyst will tell you ticket sales will at least double.

This is one of the first things that I thought this morning,” Cotillard says. “I thought, 'Oh my God, the movie has just come out. This couldn't be better for the movie!' This is a light put on the movie that already we've had such an amazing journey with it. I'm so happy members of the Academy actually watched the movie.”

“Two Days, One Night” is now playing in New York and Los Angeles. It expands to Chicago Friday and will be in most major markets by Jan. 30.

Roger Deakins inched closer to the likes of fellow cinematographers Leon Shamroy and Charles B. Lang Jr. Thursday morning by picking up his twelfth Oscar nomination to date, for his work on Angelina Jolie's “Unbroken.” But where Shamroy and Lang each picked up some hardware in their day, Deakins – one of the most celebrated artists behind the camera today – is still looking for his first.

But he doesn't bog down in that. In fact, he's most eager to discuss the other work nominated alongside his today when chatting in the wake of the nominations announcement. Like the Polish entry “Ida,” for instance, which was recognized by BAFTA this year and with a special ASC award last year, yet few were expecting it to figure in today. “I think that's fantastic,” Deakins says. “I thought that was a great film. I think 'Leviathan' should have been in there, too. But I'm so pleased Dick Pope is in there for 'Mr. Turner.' He's one of my oldest friends. We started shooting documentaries together many, many years ago.”

He also mentioned Robert Elswit's work on “Nightcrawler” as particularly noteworthy, adding context to boot. “I can see how difficult that film would have been on that budget and what they were trying to achieve,” he says. “Like Dick on 'Mr. Turner,' that wasn't a huge budget at all. I was working on a budget of $60 million [on 'Unbroken']. The disparity is just enormous. So what Dick pulled off, or what the cinematographers did on 'Ida,' it was great.”

While Deakins may be searching for his first Oscar, Emmanuel Lubezki – who landed his seventh nomination Thursday – could well be in line for his second win in a row after “Gravity” last year. The magic trick of “Birdman” has been a dazzler all season, but talk to Lubzeki about this stuff and he just seems to think it's a foreign language.

“I love all of the movies,” he says. “Obviously I'm very honored to be nominated with them. But I don't know how these things work. How can you pick one over the other? I admire a lot of the other cinematographers who were nominated and I just hope I get a chance to be with a lot of them and give them a hug.”

How do you think the Best Cinematography race is going to pan out? Will Lubezki cruise to a win or could Deakins (or someone else) surprise?

The last time I hopped on the phone with Ethan Hawke to discuss a nominations haul for “Boyhood,” it was just after the announcement of the Golden Globe nominees. At the time, he said it felt like he, Richard Linklater, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and the whole team were “crashing the party,” and today, seven Oscar nominations later, it still feels that way for the newly minted Best Supporting Actor nominee.

“Anyone who is in the Academy is someone who's incredibly passionate about film and has done something to warrant admission,” Hawke says. “They're usually extremely knowledgeable and care about movies, so when you get recognition from your peers for something you love, it's great.”

But Hawke entered rare air Thursday morning. He has now received multiple nominations for acting and writing on four separate projects (“Training Day,” “Before Sunset,” “Before Midnight” and “Boyhood”). “It's pretty special,” he says. “I had a friend that geeked out on the computer and found out that it's a small club with Warren Beatty and Ruth Gordon. Isn't that awesome?”

In a way, everything leading up to today has felt like qualifying rounds, none of the recognition any less surprising or exciting than the last, he said. But he tips his hat to the critical establishment when it comes to forking over credit for any awards love “Boyhood” has received and will continue to receive.

“Without the critics, this movie would have been lost,” he says. “You know, 'Waking Life' is a brilliant film. It's totally original and unique and it really struggled to find its place in popular culture. The 'Before' trilogy has its fans, but it's never had the support that this one has. And I think it's largely thanks to critics for letting people know how original it is. I think we owe a large debt to that. Any time a movie like this is successful, it doesn't do it on its own. I've never been a part of something like that. I've seen it, but I've never been a part of it.”

Hawke will have ample opportunity to thank the critics some more tonight as he hops a plane back to Los Angeles for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards in Hollywood.

Before diving into an analysis of this year's Oscar nominations, I want to say at the top that revealing all 24 categories live is the way to go. That was just wonderful, to hear all of those below the line artists' names called in the wee hours of the morning alongside the rest. Let's make that a tradition. Now, the nominations…

The first thing of note is, for the first time since we've had the expanded field, there were less than nine Best Picture nominees. Every film we were expecting to get in got in except for “Nightcrawler,” which actually came up short in a few other areas (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress) while only turning up in Best Original Screenplay. It was a well-liked film going into the announcement but it just ended up squeezed by out in those areas at the end of the day. Still, a great push from Open Road on and I'm happy Dan Gilroy got some love at the end of the day.

Also a first in this new landscape, a director was nominated for a film that wasn't nominated for Best Picture. Bennett Miller's name popped up courtesy of his colleagues, but the movie didn't find enough passion for the top spot. Intriguing, that. Directors love Miller, so that's not entirely surprising, but the film itself is a cold enterprise and maybe a tough sell overall. Still, the Directors Branch has a tendency to go its own way, and happily (sorry Clint), they did. Nevertheless, with screenplay, director and Best Actor support, you would think it would have cracked the Best Picture list. Obviously, it was close.

After a balls-to-the-wall campaign for a film no one outside of the media had seen, Jennifer Aniston missed out on a Best Actress nomination for “Cake.” I am no fan of the film, but I always feel bad when I see that kind of effort hit a brick wall. That team really tried to seize the moment in a race that was bone dry and it was worth a shot. In the end, critical darling Marion Cotillard, with virtually no campaign beyond riding the steam of those early kudos, got the call for “Two Days, One Night.” Good for her.

Laura Dern shoved out Rene Russo and Jessica Chastain in the supporting actress field, while the supporting actor list duplicated SAG's. Dern seemed to hit the skids a bit as “Wild” became more of a Reese Witherspoon prospect. But she was able to secure, finally, her second Oscar nomination to date since first being recognized nearly 25 years ago for “Rambling Rose.” Hard not to be happy for her.

Alright, let's get to “Selma.” In the end, maybe the screener issue wasn't all there was to it. The film landed exactly the two nominations I was anticipating: Best Picture (had enough passion at the top) and Best Original Song. But nothing else. No David Oyelowo. No Ava DuVernay. Screenplay ignored. Below-the-line artistry avoided. It just didn't find love throughout the categories and finds itself in the odd situation of being a Best Picture nominee with just one other element recognized, not unlike “The Blind Side” or “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” But in effect, it's a worse situation given that there are no acting nominees. You would have to go back to, what, “Grand Hotel?” Good news is that movie won Best Picture, though.

So what happened? It's obviously one of the most critically acclaimed films in the race, so one has to assume it's not quite as simple as “maybe they simply didn't like it.” Particularly with the Best Picture nod. You have to figure the controversy played some part, large or small. But I think it's a combination of that and a number of really, really tight races. I feel bad for the folks at Paramount, who admittedly got a late start on the film, and for DuVernay. But here's the thing about these moments: the film is still there. It lives on. Its import is lost on no one. And if I were Paramount, I'd go hard for the gold. There's an underdog card to play here.

The biggest outright shocker of the morning was the animation branch snubbing (you'll just have to forgive the constant use of that word today) “The LEGO Movie.” Many had it picked to win. I found it to be quite overrated but still, that was a “whoa” moment. Instead, the branch went in for both GKIDS/hand-drawn efforts, “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya.” The question now, though, is whether “How to Train Your Dragon 2” can duplicate its Golden Globe victory. I think it absolutely can, so all of my fingers are crossed.

Digging into the crafts categories, there were some surprises and they came early. No “Birdman” in Best Film Editing, for example, was unexpected. Also, I had figured if the makeup from “The Theory of Everything” had gotten as far as the bake-off stage, it would be in and potentially win. That didn't happen and the category will probably be a slugfest now. I correctly guessed all five cinematography nominees and was delighted to see the branch go in for “Ida” as a bit of a change of pace. Thankfully the guild misses for “Mr. Turner” weren't duplicated, as it landed in not only Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, but rather surprisingly, Best Original Score as well. (And “Dick Poop” will live in infamy.) Diane Warren's personal campaign for original song “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights” paid off (though it's still a pity Gugu Mbatha-Raw couldn't find room as hers was, to my mind, the finest leading actress portrayal of the year).

I had heard the reel for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” didn't go over well at the visual effects bake-off, and sure enough, the film missed in that category, with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” pulling off what its predecessor couldn't. It got the stray sound editing nod and that's it. Middle Earth goes out with a wimper. “Big Eyes,” meanwhile, missed all around, which isn't entirely shocking. I had thought maybe the production design would pop for AMPAS as it did for BAFTA, but no dice. Instead, it was “Interstellar” that popped for AMPAS as it did for BAFTA. It was a coin flip for me. But in that category, I'm sort of bummed “Birdman” didn't get the call. That was staggering, cleverly expressionistic work. Oh well.

Oh! And my favorite nomination of the morning is easily “Inherent Vice” making the cut for costume design. Mark Bridges has been with Paul Thomas Anderson for a long time and finally got to the dance with “The Artist.” It's great to see him recognized for one of their collaborations, however, and I thought he might have an outside shot. Anderson, too, was nominated – for Best Adapted Screenplay. And hallelujah to that, but it came at the expense of “Gone Girl's” Gillian Flynn. That had to be a shock for many. (Indeed, “Gone Girl” received just one nomination: Best Actress. This after being an obvious favorite on the guild circuit.)

With “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” leading the way with nine nominations each and “The Imitation Game” not far behind with eight, the nominations pretty much echoed the big picture left by the guild and industry group announcements. That plus “Boyhood” is your race for Best Picture at the moment. Fox Searchlight finds itself in an awkward situation, having two nominees to push through phase two (one of them being the highest grossing Best Picture nominee at present), while “Boyhood” is the Golden Globe champ with a lot of dry powder left over following a casual-than-most phase one campaign. But my money is still on the Weinstein hopeful.

Now, there will probably be a lot of hand-wringing in the usual corners today about what this all “means.” The folly in that, always, is assuming it's one big, grand gesture. Professionals were tasked with picking their favorite examples of work in their respective fields across an array of categories. In the final analysis, the collective is the collective, but there's no hive mind here. “They” didn't do anything as one. Keep calm and carry on.

As for predictions, I had one of my better years. I went 4/5 in nearly every single category for an overall total of 96/121 (or 87/106 if you don't count the shorts). I correctly foresaw the “Life Itself” snub in the documentary feature field, as often, that group moves away from mainstream. I was 100% in the Best Picture (“Nightcrawler” was my #9), Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film categories. I'm not really kicking myself for any of the misses throughout because I sort of zenned out after dropping my predictions. Nothing was nagging. No last minute adjustments. Just a sense of wondering how quirky the Academy would be, because they always are.

And they were true to form today.

So congratulations to all the nominees. Chin up to all of those who thought they might hear their name called today. And onward we go.

What was your response to this morning's Oscar nominations announcement? Ready to make some winner predictions? Cut loose in the comments section below.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards Thursday morning and Fox Searchlight's “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” led all nominees with nine each. “The Imitation Game” followed with eight and “Boyhood” and “American Sniper” each found six nominations. “The Theory of Everything,” “Whiplash,” “Interstellar” and “Foxcatcher” were the other films to receive major recognition earning five each.

For the first time since expanding the best picture field in 2010 and then modifying the rules for 2012, The Academy voted for just eight best picture nominees. They are “American Sniper,” “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Selma,” “The Theory of Everything” and Whiplash.”  

Directing nominees include Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“Birdman”), Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”), Bennett Miller (“Foxcatcher”), Wes Anderson (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and Morten Tyldum (“The Imitation Game”).

Bradley Cooper is the only actor to have previously been nominated among this year's actor in a leading role field. The “American Sniper” star joins Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) and “Eddie Redmayne” (“The Theory of Everything”).

Julianne Moore earned her fifth nomination in the actress in a leading role category for “Still Alice.” She's joined by “Two Days, One Night's” Marion Cotillard, who previously won for “La Vie En Rose,” Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”), Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) and another previous winner in this category, Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”).

Continuing to set records, Meryl Streep earned her 19th acting nomination in the supporting actress category for “Into the Woods.” Her fellow nominees include Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”), Laura Dern (“Wild”), Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”) and Emma Stone (“Birdman”). These are the second nominations for both Dern and Knightley, the former's first nod taking place back in 1992 for “Rambling Rose.”

“The Judge's” Robert Duvall was rewarded with his seventh nomination this year in the actor in a supporting role category. He's joined by Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”), Edward Norton (“Birdman”), Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”) and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash). Some Oscars trivia: Hawke becomes the first person to be nominated twice as an actor and twice as a screenwriter for four different projects.

While omissions are always noteworthy in any awards race, there were some notable snubs that will certainly have the movie-going public shaking their heads in confusion.  

“The LEGO Movie” was not nominated in the best animated feature film category. Instead, “Big Hero 6,” “The Boxtrolls,” “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” made the cut.  

Cotillard was something of a surprise inclusion in the lead actress field, beating out SAG Awards, Golden Globes and Critics' Choice nominee Jennifer Aniston.

This year's lead actor field was arguably one of the best in a generation. Many would argue that Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”) or Timothy Spall (“Mr. Turner”) should have found their way into the field.

Jessica Chastain, with opportunities in “Interstellar” and more notably “A Most Violent Year” was also a somewhat surprising exclusion following some support in the early phases of the season.

Overall, many will be dismayed by the lack of representation for Ava DuVernay's “Selma,” Angelina Jolie's “Unbroken” and Rob Marshall's “Into the Woods.” Both “Woods” and “Unbroken” are major box office hits and “Selma” is one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year.  Many pundits also predicted that either DuVernay or Jolie would earn a directing nomination. Instead, the number of women who have earned a directing nod stands at four.

The 87th Academy Awards will be handed out on Feb. 22 and broadcast live on ABC.

Thursday morning the nominations for the 87th annual Academy Awards were unveiled by filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams, actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs live from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.

Check out a full list of the nominees below, and see how they reflect the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit.

BEST PICTURE
“American Sniper” (Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan)
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole)
“Boyhood” (Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson)
“The Imitation Game” (Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman)
“Selma” (Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner)
“The Theory of Everything” (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten)
“Whiplash” (Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster)

DIRECTING
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
“Boyhood” (Richard Linklater)
“Foxcatcher” (Bennett Miller)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Wes Anderson)
“The Imitation Game” (Morten Tyldum)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman of (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
“American Sniper” (Written by Jason Hall)
“The Imitation Game” (Written by Graham Moore)
“Inherent Vice” (Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson)
“The Theory of Everything” (Screenplay by Anthony McCarten)
“Whiplash” (Written by Damien Chazelle)

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. & Armando Bo)
“Boyhood” (Written by Richard Linklater)
“Foxcatcher” (Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness)
“Nightcrawler” (Written by Dan Gilroy)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Emmanuel Lubezki)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Robert D. Yeoman)
“Ida” (Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczweski)
“Mr. Turner” (Dick Pope)
“Unbroken” (Roger Deakins)

COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Milena Canonero)
“Inherent Vice” (Mark Bridges)
“Into the Woods” (Colleen Atwood)
“Maleficent” (Anna B. Sheppard, Jane Clive)
“Mr. Turner” (Jacqueline Durran)

FILM EDITING
“American Sniper” (Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach)
“Boyhood” (Sandra Adair)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Barney Pilling)
“The Imitation Game” (William Goldenberg)
“Whiplash” (Tom Cross)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Foxcatcher” (Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White)

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Alexandre Desplat)
“The Imitation Game” (Alexandre Desplat)
“Interstellar” (Hans Zimmer)
“Mr. Turner” (Gary Yershon)
“The Theory of Everything” (Jóhann Jóhannsson)

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Everything is Awesome” from “The LEGO Movie” (Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson)
“Glory” from “Selma” (Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn)
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights” (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
“I'm Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me” (Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond)
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” (Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Adam Stockhausen; Anna Pinnock)
“The Imitation Game” (Maria Djurkovic; Tatiana Macdonald)
“Interstellar” (Nathan Crowley; Gary Fettis, Paul Healy)
“Into the Woods” (Dennis Gassner; Anna Pinnock)
“Mr. Turner” (Suzie Davies; Charlotte Watts)

SOUND EDITING
“American Sniper” (Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman)
“Birdman of (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock)
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (Brent Burge and Jason Canovas)
“Interstellar” (Richard King)
“Unbroken” (Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro)

SOUND MIXING
“American Sniper” (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin)
“Birdman of (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga)
“Interstellar” (Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten)
“Unbroken” (Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee)
“Whiplash” (Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley)

VISUAL EFFECTS
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick)
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould)
“Interstellar” (Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher)
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Big Hero 6” (Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli)
“The Boxtrolls” (Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight)
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” (Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold)
“Song of the Sea” (Tomm Moore and Paul Young)
“The Tale of Princess Kaguya” (Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Ida” (Poland; Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski)
“Leviathan” (Russia; Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev)
“Tangerines” (Estonia; Directed by Zaza Urushadze)
“Timbuktu” (Mauritania; Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako)
“Wild Tales” (Argentina; Directed by Damián Szifrón)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“CITIZENFOUR” (Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky)
“Finding Vivian Maier” (John Maloof and Charlie Siskel)
“Last Days in Vietnam” (Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester)
“The Salt of the Earth” (Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier)
“Virunga” (Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” (Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry)
“Joanna” (Aneta Kopacz)
“Our Curse” (Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki)
“The Reaper (La Parka)” (Gabriel Serra Arguello)
“White Earth” (J. Christian Jensen)

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“The Bigger Picture” (Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees)
“The Dam Keeper” (Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi)
“Feast” (Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed)
“Me and My Moulton” (Torill Kove)
“A Single Life” (Joris Oprins)

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“Aya” (Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis)
“Boogaloo and Graham” (Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney)
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)” (Hu Wei and Julien Féret)
“Parvaneh” (Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger)
“The Phone Call” (Mat Kirkby and James Lucas)

Over the past three and a half months, we have previewed the races in all Oscar categories and spoken with many of the leading contenders. For the ninth year here at Tech Support, it's now time to put all of that aside and put forward final predictions. Which craftsmen and craftswomen will be cited by their peers on Thursday?

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki looks in fantastic position to earn his second straight statuette for his very, very long takes on “Bidman.” Robert Yeoman and Dick Pope have earned guild, BFCA and BAFTA nods for their gorgeous period work that blurred the line between camera work and the painted and crafted arts on “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Mr. Turner” respectively. The former will likely rack up a host of nods while this is a perfect chance to recognize Pope”s collaborations with Leigh. They”re in good shape.

Roger Deakins missed a BAFTA nod, where “Unbroken,” was shut out, but I”d still be shocked if AMPAS didn”t give the living legend another citation for the sort of work that usually finds a home in this category. The guild and BFCA saw fit to include him.

This branch has affinity for foreign films and black-and-white. So in the last spot, I”m banking on Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal for “Ida.”

I realize this means betting against leading Best Picture contender “The Imitation Game,” for which Óscar Faura earned an ASC nod. My gut tells me he will make it but someone cannot make it in this group so I have to leave him to the side.

I”d have “Interstellar” in seventh. Hoyte Van Hoytema has been on the cusp of a nomination for years, Christopher Nolan”s films have a great track record here, and he has BFCA and BAFTA nominations. But I think the competition will ultimately prove too stiff for him to get in for a film that many found disappointing.

PREDICTIONS: “Birdman,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Ida,” “Mr. Turner,” “Unbroken”
ALTERNATE: “The Imitation Game”

Best Costume Design

Milena Canonero (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) and Colleen Atwood (“Into the Woods”) are locks for nominations for threads that were inspired, have been nominated by BFCA/SAG/ADG, and, well, they”re Colleen Atwood and Milena Canonero!

Jacqueline Durran (“Mr. Turner”) has BFCA and BAFTA nods for her superb work on “Mr. Turner”. I”ll be surprised if she doesn”t make the final five as well.

Steven Noble (“The Theory of Everything”) and Sammy Sheldon Differ (“The Imitation Game”) have scored with the guild and BAFTA for their detailed period work on Best Picture nominees. I”m banking on the latter making the final five with AMPAS, as I anticipate AMPAS will quite like the film. Both are in contention, though this category isn”t the most susceptible to being swayed by the Best Picture race.

Anna B. Sheppard (“Maleficent”) and Mark Bridges (“Inherent Vice”) garnered BFCA and CDG nominations for inspired work. This category will think outside the box and while neither costume designer has had tremendous success outside of leading Best Picture contenders, this year could change that. In fact, I think Sheppard”s costuming of Angelina Jolie will manage to sneak into the final five. It “feels right.”

But why does the “little man” inside of me tell be that Ruth E. Carter will make the final five for “Selma”? Surely she got the film”s sole guild nod for a reason…

PREDICTIONS: “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Into the Woods,” “Maleficent,” “Mr. Turner”
ALTERNATE: “Selma”

Best Film Editing

Talk about a stacked category! Sandra Adair (“Boyhood”) and Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione (“Birdman”) have cut Best Picture frontrunners with unique narratives. “Birdman” the three major precursors (BFCA, ACE, BAFTA), though “Boyhood” missed BAFTA. They”re in.

Tom Cross”s cutting of “Whiplash” has received nothing but praise, now reflected in ACE, BFCA and BAFTA nominations. It will be a tragedy if he doesn”t make it.

“The Imitation Game” is the sort of Best Picture nominee – suspenseful and jumping between time periods – that scores in this category. Billy Goldenberg is also respected, and also has ACE, BAFTA and BFCA nominations. I”d bank on him earning nomination #5.

And in the fifth spot, I simply have a very strong hunch that BAFTA/ACE nominee John Gilroy is going to get the nomination he came so close to for “Michael Clayton,” leaving all three Gilroy Brothers with nominations this year (Tony for producing and Dan for writing).

The problem is that predicting this quintet leaves two seemingly “easy gets” on the outside looking in. Kirk Baxter (“Gone Girl”) has been nominated three times in the past six years for Fincher collaborations. A super-suspenseful film for which he”s also earned the three major precursors, he should be back at it. But is the film fading?

“American Sniper” certainly isn”t fading, as Joel Cox and Gary Roach have peaked at just the right time. I do note that Cox has fared better with the guild than the Academy over the years, though, so I would not read too much into the current zeitgeist.

If Barney Pilling (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) or Jinx Godrey (“The Theory of Everything”) make the final five, those films are in for quite the haul.

PREDICTIONS: “Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “The Imitation Game,” “Nightcrawler”, “Whiplash”
ALTERNATE: “American Sniper”

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Whenever a film makes the bake-off, it cannot be ruled out here. Nor can anything ever be considered a lock. Having said that, now that “Guardians of the Galaxy” made it to this stage notwithstanding the CGI, I”d say a nod is likely. Hollywood seems to have joined the rest of the world in loving this movie. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” also has so much of what this branch loves – aging, battle wounds, period makeup. The esteem in which the film is held should push it over the edge. And a physical transformation usually takes a spot so I”m not going to change my “since Cannes” prediction of “Foxcatcher.”

Now that leaves us with three fairly predictable nominees, which is not par for the course in this category, but I”m not sure what other approach to take. “Maleficent” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” seem to be treading similar ground that “Guardians” does better while “Noah” seems a tad too subtle.

The fact that “The Theory of Everything” made it this far means it”s likely in good shape – disability and subtle aging is something this category adores. But what will it knock out?

PREDICTIONS: “Foxcatcher”, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
ALTERNATE: “The Theory of Everything”

Best Music (Original Score)

This category is notoriously hostile to first-time nominees but Jóhann Jóhannsson fits the mould of a first-timer perfectly, with a prestigious, Oscar-friendly score in a prestigious, Oscar-friendly film. With a Globe win and BFCA and BAFTA nominations, the Icelandic composer should be good shape for his first nomination for “The Theory of Everything.”

Hans Zimmer also has those nominations for “Interstellar.” While I”m not as confident in him given that he has had a very mixed Oscar track record this century, even in the face of relatively weak competition, he seems a good bet this year for this booming score.

Alexandre Desplat has BFCA and Globe nods for “The Imitation Game” and a BAFTA citation for “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” For some composers and in some years, I”d say that would run the risk of a vote split, leading to no nominations. But in the face of an open field (“Birdman””s disqualification will be felt), I think he”ll get in for both.

One would think Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won a very inspired statuette in this category for “The Social Network,” would be in good shape, given their BFCA and Globe nods and the disqualification of “Birdman””s Antonio Sanchez. But they remain atypical nominees in this category and I have a hunch they won”t make the cut at the end of the day.

So in the last spot, I”m going to “go wild,” follow BAFTA”s lead, and guess that Mica Levi gets in for “Under the Skin.” Though one-upping Reznor and Ross in terms of “atypicalness,” this may be so novel, they”ll jump at it. And everyone who has heard the score loves it.

Marco Beltrami (“The Homesman”) and Thomas Newman (“The Judge”) should also be considered. Both composers have managed unlikely nominations before. And maybe Alexandre Desplat could make history and make it a trio of nominations for “Unbroken”? As mentioned, this category is open and ripe for surprises.

PREDICTIONS: “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Interstellar,” “The Theory of Everything,” “Unbroken”
ALTERNATE: “Gone Girl”

Best Music (Original Song)

Every year, this is difficult category to predict. Having said that, the Golden Globe-winning ballad “Glory” from “Selma” should be difficult to pass up. “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” and “Everything is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie” played key roles in their films, and are not easily forgettable, so they”re probably in good shape as well.

After that, things become more difficult. Golden Globe nominations for “Big Eyes” from “Big Eyes,” “Yellow Flicker Beat” from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I” and “Mercy Is” from “Noah” all could be attributable to a love of stars. But maybe not. Lana Del Rey, in particular, may benefit from goodwill from a high profile snub from last year.

The fifth Globe nominee – “Opportunity” from “Annie” – should logically be considered. I suspect people will forget this song/movie, however. The fact that Coldplay were not nominated for the star-friendlly HFPA is not a good sign for their “Unbroken” chances.

I also think it will also be difficult to get nominations from the likes of “Glen Campbell: I”ll Be Me” and while “Boyhood” contained multiple original songs, who knows which, if any, of them will stick out for the branch.

Ultimately, I”m going with Del Rey (making it up for last year) and “Mercy Is” (because I have the hunch “Noah” will get a nomination and there may be Patti Smith fans in the music branch) but this category is famous for pulling out surprises “the day of”. I”ll watch with interest.

FINAL PREDICTIONS: “Big Eyes” (“Big Eyes”), “Lost Stars” (“Begin Again”), “Everything is Awesome” (“The LEGO Movie”), “Mercy Is” (“Noah”), “Glory (“Selma”)
ALTERNATE: “Yellow Flicker Beat” (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I”)

Best Production Design

Adam Stockhausen (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) will hopefully win this category running away. There is still much excitement in this race, however, as I find the race for the last four spots to be intense.

I think it would be foolish to bet against the great Dennis Gassner (“Into the Woods”) but despite BFCA and ADG nods, he failed to make the cut with BAFTA. While “Interstellar””s underwhelming reception leaves it away from “lock” status, Nathan Crowley”s good track record (“The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight”) and the film”s BFCA, ADG and BAFTA nods make me think he”s a solid bet for spot #3. I”ve also been keen all year on the chances of Maria Djurkovic (“The Imitation Game”) to score her overdue, first nomination. It”s far from a sure bet but I”m not going to bail on her now, with ADG and BAFTA nods to her credit.

I still think that there are no less than nine other titles that could get in here – “Snowpiercer” (would be inspired but it strikes me as too niche), “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (but it seems too “been there, done that”), “Inherent Vice” (but it seems to be stylized too subtly), “Birdman” (but it strikes me as too contemporary), “Mr. Turner” (gorgeous but how many nominations is it really going to get?), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (cool but how many nominations is it really going to get?), “Unbroken” (possible but how many nominations is it really going to get?) “The Theory of Everything” (but it seems to tread on similar territory as “The Imitation Game” and is not as showy), and “Big Eyes” (but it strikes me as not in the same league as the past Tim Burton movies that have scored here).

I”m going to ultimately go with Suzie Davies and “Mr. Turner” in the last spot if only because it is the “film about art”.

PREDICTIONS: “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Interstellar,” “Into the Woods,” “Mr. Turner”
ALTERNATE: “Birdman”

Best Sound Editing

I think the late-breaking “American Sniper” is well-suited to take the sound categories by the horns. “Guardians of the Galaxy” also strikes me as the logical summer blockbuster contender, with many comedic sound effects on display. Beyond that, things seem very open. I do think there will be enough friends of Christopher Nolan and Richard King in the sound branch to ensure “Interstellar” gets nomination #3.

Not that there are quotas, but predicting a war film, a summer blockbuster and a late year blockbuster makes me doubtful of the chances of titles such as “Fury,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

The likes of “Birdman” and “The Imitation Game” seem to be more “mixer's films” than “editor's films but we shall see what the wonders of a Best Picture nomination may do. And while I would not be surprised if an animated film made it, none of “The Boxtrolls,” “Big Hero 6,” or “The LEGO Movie” seem “the one.”

In the circumstances, I'd look to two films that do not fit neatly into any of these categories. The first is “Unbroken,” where water, war sounds and prison sounds may lead to a nod. The second is “Noah” because I have a hunch this film will garner a nomination is some category.

PREDICTIONS: “American Sniper,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Interstellar,” “Noah,” “Unbroken”
ALTERNATE: “Birdman”

Best Sound Mixing

Now here is an open category, with most prospective blockbusters being either disappointing films and/or not terribly respected. And none of the musicals set the world on fire either. “American Sniper” is the only prospective nominee in which I have real confidence.

In circumstances such as these, well respected Best Picture contenders are well-suited to jump to the forefront. “Birdman” is just such a piece, with CAS and BAFTA nominations behind it. “The Imitation Game” and even “The Grand Budapest Hotel” could follow suit but it don”t feel totally right to me – I think they would have to be slightly more loved to make it.

“Guardians of the Galaxy”  seems to be the summer blockbuster most respected in the industry so I”ll go with it over titles such as “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (which I think will only score in Visual Effects) and “Interstellar” (where I think the criticism is just too loud, CAS aside).

Musicals ought not to be ruled out but “Into the Woods” and “Annie” were not terribly loved. Instead, I”m perhaps going to think wishfully and guess that “Whiplash” follows its BAFTA nomination with a citation here. The mix was incredible.

Back when I wrote about this category, “Unbroken” seemed a sure thing but upon release, I”m not so sure. It did get a CAS nomination. But in my experience, it”s always foolish to rule out Greg P. Russell in this category, so I ultimately think he and Scott Millan will ride “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (“Get on Up” seems forgotten) to another nomination.

PREDICTIONS: “American Sniper,” “Birdman,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Whiplash”
ALTERNATE: “Interstellar”

Best Visual Effects

“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Interstellar,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” all have some combo of respected series, respected film, respected director, and/or simply extremely revered effects. I”d be surprised if they don”t make the cut, especially with BFCA and BAFTA nods.

I doubt “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (despite its BAFTA nod) and “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” will manage to buck the trends of their series in this category. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is part of a franchise with a poor track record, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” is part of a franchise I think they”ll have tired of, and “Godzilla” just doesn”t feel right to me.

I”m counting on “Maleficent” for the final spot, therefore. The quantity of visual effects, and the nod to fairy tales past seems to lead to this being an appropriate place to cite the film.

PREDICTIONS: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” “Interstellar,” “Maleficent”
ALTERNATE: “Godzilla”

That”s the way I see the world today…tune in tomorrow as I hope that the egg I”m wiping off my face is minimal!

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910571535001

Well here's something you don't see too often. Just two months out from a planned March release, Warner Bros. has moved Ron Howard's “In the Heart of the Sea” all the way to Dec. 11, 2015. Let's all make the silly pun together: that's right in the heart of the Oscar season.

The studio has a couple of options to play with on the prestige side next year. There's Joe Wright's “Pan” in the summer. There's Scott Cooper's Whitey Bulger biopic “Black Mass,” though that's lingering in a weird September corridor at the moment. There's “The Intern” from Nancy Meyers in November and then there's one of the most anticipated films of the year for me, Jeff Nichols' “Midnight Special,” also in November.

So there isn't a whole lot to play with for awards, I guess. Or a lot of question marks, anyway. So this is either faith that the film can survive a week before J.J. Abrams' “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” obliterates theaters or just a necessity push for something to chew on in that corridor. They had another film ready to slot in March, the Liam Neeson starrer “Run All Night,” so it's probably some combination of all of that.

Nevertheless, I have the utmost faith this movie is going to rock. It's way up there on my list of anticipations, particularly because I'm stoked by Howard's new collaboration with DP Anthony Dod Mantle (“Rush” looked absolutely exquisite). “In the Heart of the Sea” stars Chris Hemsworth and tells the true story that inspired “Moby Dick.” Potential abounds, no?

I will say this, though. Why push it so deep? We're seeing “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (March) and “Boyhood” (July) light up the awards circuit. Maybe it's a fiscal necessity (after all, “Blackhat” isn't tracking well and there won't be a Hemsworth boost coming out of that), but awards wise, it would be nice if studios could adapt to the long game already.

What do you think of the move? Is “In the Heart of the Sea” one to keep our eye on for next year's Oscar season?

A bevy of honorary awards announcements landed today so it's probably best to just round them up into one shot. So Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck and Guillermo del Toro – get your speeches ready.

Beginning with Streisand, she will receive the American Society of Cinematographers' Board of Governors Award at the Feb. 15 ceremony. Her accomplishments across the industry “are unparalleled, and we look forward to celebrating her groundbreaking contributions to the art of filmmaking,” ASC President Richard Crudo said. He goes on to note that the three films she has directed have earned a combined 14 Oscar nominations, though funnily enough, only one of them – 1991's “The Prince of Tides” – received recognition for its cinematography. (Fistbump, Stephen Goldblatt).

Over at the Writers Guild of America, which yesterday announced an accolade for the late Harold Ramis, it was revealed that Oscar-winning writer (“Good Will Hunting”) and producer (“Argo”) Ben Affleck would receive the organization's Valentine Davies Award in recognition of the multi-hyphenate's humanitarian efforts and service to the global community. The “Gone Girl” star “somehow found the time to become an engaged leader in humanitarian causes here and abroad,” WGAw President Chris Keyser said. “Perhaps most crucially, Affleck founded the Eastern Congo Initiative, a grant-making and advocacy group that works toward an eastern Congo with opportunities for economic and social development and the flourishing of a robust civil society.”

Finally – and this is a big “duh” for the organization's new world of kudos-dishing – the Makeup and Hairstylists Guild announced that filmmaker Guillermo del Toro would receive the Distinguished Artisan Award at the upcoming ceremony. The “Pacific Rim” director “constantly raises the bar and challenges the skills of our members to their utmost abilities when delineating his film characters,” Guild President Sue Cabral-Ebert said. “He has always shown strong support while working in collaboration with our makeup artists and hairstylists.”

Hard to argue with giving baubles to those peeps. Just a couple more stops on the Circuit train left to go.

With the MPSE's nominations logged and official, all of the guilds and industry groups have had their say in the nominees stage of the season, culminating with tomorrow's Oscar nominations. Leading the way with mentions from 11 separate groups each – and boy this must make Fox Searchlight happy – is “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Just behind with 10 is “The Imitation Game.”

What's interesting is what's just under that level. You have both “Gone Girl” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” chalking up eight groups. The former may or may not end up in the Best Picture category tomorrow (nothing would surprise me), but the latter sure did come on strong for its elements. After that, “American Sniper” has seven, “Boyhood,” “Nightcrawler,” “Interstellar,” “Into the Woods,” “The Theory of Everything” and “Unbroken” each have six and Sony Classics' hopefuls “Foxcatcher” and “Whiplash” ring in with five.

That pretty much covers the landscape, but the elephant in the room, of course, is “Selma,” which has three groups mentioning it while most others, including the major guilds, ignored it. But the question is whether they ignored it or didn't see it, as the issue of screeners has remained at the forefront of discussion on that title throughout the end of phase one. We'll find out tomorrow how much fire there is to that smoke. In my own predictions, I ended up expecting the film to land two nods, including Best Picture, but come up short elsewhere in hugely competitive races. It could just as easily pop in those categories and rack up as many as seven or more nominations, however. A curiosity this season.

I'm sort of stunned that “Mr. Turner” landed just a single mention – from the American Society of Cinematographers – but it's BAFTA showing (which isn't included in this rubric) was strong enough below the line. Maybe that will turn the key. Color me surprised either way. Even if AMPAS opted out, one would have expected BAFTA to be on board for elements like Timothy Spall. Alas…

I think with that, we've said pretty much all there is to say about things. It just seemed worth it to collect all this together. You can check out a rundown of all the guild and industry group mentions on the next page (let me know if there's an oversight) and of course find it all broken out in detail throughout The Circuit. I'll be very curious to see what happens tomorrow morning, as I'm sure you will be, too.

For now, check out our predictions here if you missed them (or just click through the gallery below). And feel free to use the comments section for any night-before mulling you might have to do on this subject or that.

The 87th annual Oscar nominations will be unveiled bright and early Thursday morning at 5:30am PST.

“Birdman” (11) – PGA, DGA, SAG, ADG, ASC, CDG, ACE, MHG, CAS, MPSE, VES
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (11) – PGA, DGA, WGA, SAG, ADG, ASC, CDG, ACE, MHG, MPSE, VES

“The Imitation Game” (10) – PGA, DGA, WGA, SAG, ADG, ASC, CDG, ACE, MPSE, VES

“Gone Girl” (8) – PGA, WGA, SAG, ADG, CDG, ACE, MHG, MPSE
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (8) – WGA, ADG, CDG, ACE, MHG, MPSE, VES, Annie

“American Sniper” (7) – PGA, DGA, WGA, ADG, CDG, ACE, MPSE

“Big Hero 6” (6) – PGA, ACE, CAS, MPSE, VES, Annie
“The Boxtrolls” (6) – PGA, ACE, CAS, MPSE, VES, Annie
“Boyhood” (6) – PGA, DGA, WGA, SAG, CDG, ACE
“Interstellar” (6) – ADG, CDG, MHG, CAS, MPSE, VES
“Into the Woods” (6) – SAG, ADG, CDG, ACE, MHG, MPSE
“The LEGO Movie” (6) – PGA, ACE, CAS, MPSE, VES, Annie
“Nightcrawler” (6) – PGA, WGA, SAG, ADG, ACE, MHG
“The Theory of Everything” (6) – PGA, SAG, ADG, CDG, MHG, MPSE
“Unbroken” (6) – SAG, ADG, ASC, CAS, MPSE, VES

“Foxcatcher” (5) – PGA, WGA, SAG, ADG, MHG
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” (5) – PGA, CAS, MPSE, VES, Annie
“Whiplash” (5) – PGA, WGA, SAG, ACE, MPSE

“The Book of Life” (4) – PGA, MPSE, VES, Annie
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (4) – ADG, MHG, MPSE, VES
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (4) – ADG, MPSE, VES, Annie
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (4) – SAG, CDG, MHG, VES

“CITIZENFOUR” (3) – DGA, ACE, MPSE
“Finding Vivian Maier” (3) – DGA, WGA, ACE
“Get On Up” (3) – SAG, MHG, MPSE
“Inherent Vice” (3) – ADG, CDG, ACE
“Maleficent” (3) – CDG, MHG, VES
“Noah” (3) – MHG, VES, Annie
“Selma” (3) – CDG, MHG, MPSE
“Wild” (3) – SAG, WGA, CDG
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (3) – SAG, VES, Annie

“Edge of Tomorrow” (2) – VES, Annie
“Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me” (2) – ACE, MPSE
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” (2) – CDG, MHG
“Penguins of Madagascar” (2) – CAS, Annie
“Rio 2” (2) – VES, Annie
“St. Vincent” (2) – SAG, MHG
“Still Alice” (2) – SAG, MPSE
“Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2) – VES, Annie
“Virunga” (2) – PGA, DGA

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (1) – Annie
“Annie” (1) – MPSE
“Cake” (1) – SAG
“Deepsea Challenge 3D” (1) – MPSE
“Divergent” (1) – VES
“The Fault in Our Stars” (1) – MPSE
“Fury” (1) – MPSE
“The Green Prince” (1) – PGA
“Human Capital” (1) – MPSE
“The Internet's Own Boy” (1) – WGA
“Jersey Boys” (1) – MPSE
“Jodorowsky's Dune” (1) – MPSE
“The Judge” (1) – SAG
“The Kill Team” (1) – DGA
“Last Days in Vietnam” (1) – WGA
“The Liberator” (1) – MPSE
“Life Itself” (1) – PGA
“Lucy” (1) – VES
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (1) – Annie
“Mr. Turner” (1) – ASC
“Merchants of Doubt” (1) – PGA
“The Overnighters” (1) – DGA
“Particle Fever” (1) – PGA
“The Raid 2” (1) – MPSE
“Red Army” (1) – WGA
“Roar” (1) – MPSE
“Song of the Sea” (1) – Annie
“The Tale of Princess Kaguya” (1) – Annie
“Under the Electric Sky” (1) – MPSE
“Uzumasa Limelight” (1) – MPSE
“Warsaw Uprising” (1) – MPSE
“Winter's Tale” (1) – MHG

The final guild/industry group to declare nominees did so this afternoon as the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) spoke up with a roll call of players for the 62nd Golden Reel Awards.

On the film side of things, “Birdman” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” had the best showing with three nominations each. I've been wondering if the latter could slide into Oscar play this year, but it's hard to gauge here, as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” had a nice MPSE showing, too. In the effects/foley category, “Fury” is featured as well, also a strong possibility to pop up.

All other expected players (“American Sniper,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Unbroken,” etc.) are featured. We'll see how the sound branch shakes it all out tomorrow but I'm a little more confused by where they'll end up going than usual, I must say.

Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on Feb. 15. And remember to check out how the season's going at The Circuit!

Feature Animation
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The LEGO Movie”

Feature Documentary
“American – Imagine the World Without Her”
“CITIZENFOUR”
“Deepsea Challenge 3D”
“Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me”
“Jodorowsky's Dune”
“Under the Electric Sky”
“Warsaw Uprising”

Feature English Language – Dialogue/ADR
“Birdman”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Still Alice”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Unbroken”
“Whiplash”

Feature English Language – Effects/Foley
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Fury”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“Unbroken”

Feature Foreign Language – Effects/Foley/Dialogue/ADR
“Human Capital”
“The Liberator”
“The Raid 2”
“Roar”
“Uzumasa Limelight”

Feature Music
“Birdman”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“The Fault in Our Stars”
“Gone Girl”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“Selma”

Feature Musical
“Annie”
“Get On Up”
“Into the Woods”
“Jersey Boys”
“Whiplash”

Computer Episodic (Webisode)
“Halo: Nightfall”
“Habbawockeez Presents Regenerate”
“Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker”
“Video Game High School – Season 3, Episode 1” – “OMGWTFPSI”
“World of Warcraft – Lords of War”

Direct to Video Animation
“The Boxcar Children”
“The Pirate Fairy”
“Rainbow Brite”
“Scooby Doo and the Wrestle-Mania Mystery”
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” – “Sacrifice”

Direct to Video Live Action
“The Christmas Dragon”
“Leprechaun: Origins”
“The Prince”
“Red Sky”
“Stonehearst Asylum”
“WER”

Game Cinematics
“Far Cry 4”
“Halo: Master Chief Collection 2014”
“League of Legends” – “A New Dawn”
“Overwatch” – “The Exhibit”
“Star Citizen”
“World of Warcraft” – “Warlords of Draenor” Intro Cinematic

(TV nominees on the next page)

TV Animation – Effects/Foley/Dialogue/ADR
“The 7D” – “Buckets/Frankengloom”
“Gravity Falls” – “Into the Bunker”
“Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero” – “North Pole Down”
“Sofia the First” – “The Curse of Princess Ivy”
“Star Wars: Rebels” – “Gathering Forces”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” – “In Dreams”
“Ultimate Spider-Man” – “The Spider-Verse: Part 1”

TV Documentary Long Form – Effects/Foley/Dialogue/ADR
“Deadliest Catch” – “You'll Know My Name is the Lord”
“Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways” – “Seattle”
“The World Wars” – “Trial By Fire”

TV Documentary Short Form – Effects/Foley/Dialogue/ADR
“Ax Men” – “Ax Marks the Spot”
“Undrafted” – “105”
“Unsung Heroes: The Story of America's Female Patriots” – “Part 1”

TV Long Form – Dialogue/ADR
“Deliverance Creek” – “Pilot”
“Klondike” – “Episode 1”
“Lizzie Borden Took an Ax”
“The Normal Heart”
“Petals on the Wind”

TV Long Form – FX/Foley
“Houdini” – “Night 1”
“ISA”
“Klondike” – “Episode 1”
“Lizzie Borden Took an Ax”
“The Normal Heart”

TV Short Form – Dialogue/ADR
“Game of Thrones” – “The Children”
“Homeland” – “Redux”
“Houdini” – “Night 2”
“The Newsroom” – “Oh Shenandoah”
“Penny Dreadful” – “Seance”
“The Strain” – “The Box”
“True Blood” – “Jesus Gonna Be Here”
“True Detective” – “Who Goes There”

TV Short Form – FX/Foley
“The 100” – “We Are Grounders – Part Two”
“Fargo” – “Ep 106 – Buridan's Ass”
“Game of Thrones” – “The Children”
“Peaky Blinders” – “Episode 1”
“Penny Dreadful” – “Night Work”
“True Detective” – “The Secret Fate of All Life”
“Vikings” – “Answers in Blood”

TV Short Form Music Score
“Almost Human” – “Simon Says”
“American Horror Story” – “Monsters Among Us”
“Banshee” – “The Thunder Man”
“Borgia” – “1507”
“Fargo” – “The Crocodile's Dilemma”
“Game of Thrones” – “The Watchers on the Wall”
“Gotham” – “Lovecraft”
“House of Cards” – “Chapter 14”

Verna Fields Award for Student Filmmakers
“Sin Frontera”
“The Night Guardian”
“Hominid”
“Sea Odyssey”
“Posthumous”

Directors Guild President Paris Barclay has announced the TV, documentary and commercial nominees for this year's DGA Awards.

“The spectrum of directorial excellence across today's nine television and documentary categories is revelatory for the breadth and depth in what each of these women and men have directed – from 30-second commercials to multi-hour miniseries,” said Barclay in a statement. “As fellow filmmakers, we”re inspired by the quality, imagination and creativity demonstrated by these impressive nominees; as audience members, we”re incredibly fortunate to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Our congratulations to all of the nominees.”

First-time nominees include Jodie Foster (“House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black”), Cary Fukunaga (“True Detective”), Mike Judge (“Silicon Valley”), Lisa Cholodenko (“Olive Kitteridge”), Michael Wilson (“The Trip to Bountiful”) and Jill Soloway (“Transparent”). Winners will be announced Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles at a ceremony hosted by Jane Lynch.

Full list below.

DRAMATIC SERIES

Dan Attias
Homeland, “13 Hours in Islamabad” (Showtime)
Unit Production Managers: Angela Phillips, Michael Klick
First Assistant Director: Nick Heckstall Smith
Second Assistant Director: Wendy Bledsoe
 
Jodie Foster
House of Cards, “Chapter 22” (Netflix)
Unit Production Manager: Boris Malden
First Assistant Director: Christo Morse
Second Assistant Director: Annie Tan
Second Second Assistant Director: Tim Blockburger

Cary Joji Fukunaga
True Detective, “Who Goes There” (HBO)
Unit Production Manager: Carol Cuddy
First Assistant Director: Jon Mallard
Second Assistant Director: Scott August
Second Second Assistant Director: Cali Pomés
Additional Second Assistant Director: Nathan Parker
Location Manager: Batou Chandler

Lesli Linka Glatter
Homeland, “From A to B and Back Again” (Showtime)
Unit Production Managers: Angela Phillips, Michael Klick
First Assistant Director: Nick Heckstall Smith
Second Assistant Director: Wendy Bledsoe

Alex Graves
Game of Thrones, “The Children” (HBO)

COMEDY SERIES

Louis C.K.
Louie, “Elevator: Part 6” (FX)
Unit Production Manager: M. Blair Breard
First Assistant Director: Adam Escott
Second Assistant Director: Nick Vanderpool
Location Manager: Jeff Caron
 
Jodie Foster
Orange is the New Black, “Thirsty Bird” (Netflix)
Unit Production Managers: David Price, Neri Kyle Tannenbaum
First Assistant Director: Robert C. Albertell
Second Assistant Director: Joseph Turner
Second Second Assistant Director: Emily Evashevski
Location Manager: Lauri Pitkus

Mike Judge
Silicon Valley, “Minimum Viable Product” (HBO)
Unit Production Manager: Chrisann Verges
First Assistant Director: Nicholas Mastandrea
Second Assistant Director: Yumiko Takeya
Second Second Assistant Directors: Heidi Hinzman, Jessica Faires

Gail Mancuso
Modern Family, “Vegas” (ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Sally Young
First Assistant Director: Alisa Statman
Second Assistant Director: Helena Lamb
Second Second Assistant Director: Matthew W. Heffernan

Jill Soloway
Transparent, “Best New Girl” (Amazon Prime)
Unit Production Manager: Victor Hsu
First Assistant Director: Bill Purple
Second Assistant Director: Allan Monteiro Fortes

MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINISERIES

Rob Ashford (Directed By)
Glenn Weiss (Live Television Direction By)
“Peter Pan Live!” (NBC)
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Susan Kopensky
Key Stage Manager: Lynn Finkel
Stage Managers: Peter Epstein, Jeffry Gitter, Andrew Gottlieb, Isiah James, Jeff Markowitz, Bill Miller, Cyndi Owgang, Jeffrey L. Pearl, Annette Powlis, Elise Reaves, Lauren Class Schneider, Tom Ucciferri, Karen Tasch Weiss

Lisa Cholodenko
“Olive Kitteridge” (HBO)
Unit Production Manager: David Coatsworth
First Assistant Director: Jesse Nye
Second Assistant Director: Mark Constance
Second Second Assistant Director: Elizabeth MacSwan

Uli Edel
“Houdini” (History Channel)
 
Ryan Murphy
“The Normal Heart” (HBO)
Unit Production Managers: Scott Ferguson, Erica Kay
First Assistant Director: Leo Bauer
Second Assistant Directors: Becky Chin, Amy Lauritsen
Second Second Assistant Directors: Heather Verbeke, Josh Muzaffer, Travis Rehwaldt, Brian Papworth
Location Manager: Kip Davis Myers
 
Michael Wilson
“The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime)
Unit Production Manager: Dominic Cancilla
First Assistant Director: Bobby Bastarache
Second Assistant Director: Rhonda Guthrie

VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

Paul G. Casey
Real Time With Bill Maher, “#1226” (HBO)
Associate Director: Stacy Talbot
Stage Managers: Patrick Whitney, David Fox

Dave Diomedi
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, “Episode #1” (NBC)
Associate Director: Maureen Smith
Stage Managers: Nicka Tolmasoff, Mike Kilkenny

Jim Hoskinson
The Colbert Report, “#11040” (Comedy Central)
Associate Director: Yvonne DeMare
Key Stage Manager: Mark McKenna
Stage Managers: Jeff Leib, Susan Schroer, Phyllis Digilio

Don Roy King
Saturday Night Live, “Host Jim Carrey/Musical Guest Iggy Azalea” (NBC)
Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Bob Caminiti
Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly
 
Chuck O'Neil
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, “Open?Carrying to the Midterms” (Comedy Central)
Associate Director: Paul A.J. Pennolino
Stage Manager: Craig Spinney
 
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS

Hamish Hamilton
“The 86th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
Associate Directors: Hayley Collett, Sandra R. Considine, Tim Kettle, Lori Margules, Michael Polito
Stage Managers: Gary Natoli, John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Chris Hines, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Arthur Lewis, Roxanne Lozano, Ron Paul, Vince Poxon, Tammy Raab, Jason Seligman, Doug Smith, Jackie Stathis, Cheryl Teetzel Moore, David Wader, Debbie Williams, Ari Woog

Louis J. Horvitz
“The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors” (CBS)
Associate Directors: Jim Tanker, Michael Polito, Richard A. Preuss, Lisa R. Anderson
Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Phyllis Digilio, Andrew Feigin, Doug Fogel, Arthur Lewis, Joseph McCarthy, Tammy Raab, Doug Smith
 
Des McAnuff
“Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays” (HBO)
Associate Director: Sandra Restrepo Considine
Stage Managers: Andrea Naier, Matt Campbell
 
Rich Russo
“Super Bowl XLVIII” (FOX)
Associate Directors: Jacob Jolivette, Rich Gross
Stage Manager: Dominic Tringali
 
Glenn Weiss
“The 68th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Robin Abrams, Stefani Cohen, Ricky Kirshner
Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Phyllis Digilio-Kent, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Lynn Finkel, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Arthur Lewis, Jeffrey M. Markowitz, Joey Meade, Seth Mellman, Cyndi Owgang, Jeff Pearl, Annette Powlis, Elise Reaves, Lauren Class Schneider

REALITY PROGRAMS

Bertram van Munster
Jack Cannon
Elise Doganieri
The Quest, “One True Hero” (ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Mark Dziak
Associate Director: Dan Coffie
Stage Manager: Michael Gillis

Neil DeGroot
The Biggest Loser, “Episode 1613” (NBC)
Associate Director: Andy Nelson
Stage Managers: Tammy Oller, Dan Shepard

Steve Hryniewicz
Top Chef, “The First Thanksgiving” (Bravo)
Associate Director: Austin Sipes
Second Assistant Director: Ryan Turpin

Anthony B. Sacco
The Chair, “The Test” (Starz)

Adam Vetri
Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge, “Welcome to the Gun Show” (CMT)
Associate Director: Ian Blankenship
Stage Manager: Richard Mercury Melendez

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

Paul Hoen
“How to Build A Better Boy” (Disney Channel)

Jonathan Judge
100 Things To Do Before High School, “Pilot” (Nickelodeon)
Unit Production Manager: Debra Spidell
First Assistant Director: Julian Petrillo
Second Assistant Director: Katey Wheelhouse
Second Second Assistant Director: Ceci Mak

Vince Marcello
American Girl: Isabelle Dances Into The Spotlight (Disney Channel)
Unit Production Manager: Avram Butch Kaplan

Joey Mazzarino
Sesame Street, “4504 Numericon” (PBS)
Associate Director: Ken Diego
Stage Managers: Shawn Havens, Theresa Anderson

Amy Schatz
Saving My Tomorrow, “Part 1 and 2” (HBO)

COMMERCIALS

Nicolai Fuglsig
Sapeurs, Guinness ? AMV BBDO
First Assistant Director: Bob Wilkins

Waiting, FEMA ? Deutsch NY
First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
Second Assistant Director: Rafa Sanz

Lauren Greenfield
Always #LikeAGirl, Always – Leo Burnett
First Assistant Director: Steve Carmendy
Second Assistant Director: John Meyer

Brendan Malloy
Emmett Malloy
The Huddle, Nike ? Wieden + Kennedy
Unit Production Manager: Line Postmyr
First Assistant Directors: Todd Thompson, Monty Greenlee
Second Assistant Directors: Jason Swanson, Mike Alberts
Second Second Assistant Directors: Gene Smith, Tami Kumin

Daniel Mercadante
Katina Hubbard
Sports Matter, Dick's Sporting Goods ? Anomaly
First Assistant Directors: Paul Chaput, Glen Moorman
Second Assistant Directors: Glen Moorman, Brook Barksdale, Jo Throckmorton, Adam Stern

We Are Not Alone, Facebook ? Wieden + Kennedy
First Assistant Director: Michael Jordan
Second Assistant Director: Adam Stern

Big Sister, Facebook ? Wieden + Kennedy
First Assistant Director: Paul Chaput
Second Assistant Director: Adam Stern
 
Noam Murro
Ahead of Their Time, Dodge ? Wieden + Kennedy Portland
First Assistant Director: Craig Owens
Second Assistant Director: Eric Topp
Second Second Assistant Director: Rob Nia

Empty Chair, Guinness ? BBDO NY
Unit Production Manager: James Veal
First Assistant Director: Craig Pinckes
Second Assistant Director: Patrick Cunningham
 
DOCUMENTARY

Dan Krauss
“The Kill Team”

John Maloof
Charlie Siskel
“Finding Vivian Maier”
 
Jesse Moss
“The Overnighters”
 
Laura Poitras
“Citizenfour”

Orlando von Einsiedel
“Virunga”

The long and winding road of another awards season is coming round the final turn. By early Thursday morning we'll all know who made the Oscar cut and who didn't. This year the battle to earn an Academy Award nomination is particularly fierce in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, among others. There are going to be many worthy contenders on the outside looking in and we're already feeling for them. Still, at this point hope still abounds, even after our In Contention crew provides their predictions for this year's nominees.

It should be noted that both of us almost disagreed on as many categories as we agreed on. If our predictions hold, even with our differences, “Birdman,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Nightcrawler,” “Boyhood” and “The Theory of Everything” will have major hauls. And potential players such as “Selma,” “Foxcatcher” and “Gone Girl” will not fare as well. A number of others, including “American Sniper” and “Whiplash,” will fall somewhere in the middle.

Of course, the Oscar tea leaves can be hard to read. It's a much smaller group than some of the guilds who have already announced their nominations. “Gone Girl,” “Selma” or even a universal favorite such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” could still surprise. And trust us, there are always some surprises.

You can check out our predictions in the embedded story gallery below.

(One note: Only Tapley has been brave enough to stick his neck out and predict the always dicey short categories. Check out his analyses of those categories here, here and here for your own study guide if you're looking to guess those as well.)

Agree? Disagree? Share your thought in the comment section.